1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of sanitary disposable articles and, more particularly, to a sanitary disposable writing instrument, a method of making such writing instrument, and a dispenser therefore, to prevent cross-contamination of bacteria, viruses and/or chemicals from one person to another in public locations.
Numerous studies have been performed to determine the levels of bacteria or microbes found on commonly used products. It has been found that one of the highest levels of bacteria can be found on writing instruments used by the public in medical environments such as doctors offices, medical clinics or hospitals, or other high traffic areas such as hotels, cruise ships, banks, restaurants, stores and the like. In medical environments, when a patient is signing the register or writing down his/her medical history, patients who are usually ill, commonly use the same writing instrument. Transference of bacteria, viruses and/or chemicals can occur between medical personnel amongst themselves, as well as, with other patients. In other public environments, such as hotels, restaurants, or banks, people, who may have a cold or the flu, commonly use the same writing instrument. Thus, cross-contamination of germs from one person to another is very common.
In an article entitled “The Cold Wars” in the December 2005-January 2006 edition of Real Simple magazine, the author states that as a means of preventing colds and the flu, one should “keep hands clean by avoiding well-handled objects like the pens at banks and restaurants (bring your own)”. Papermate® has also recently developed a product called the FlexGrip® Elite which is a pen having anti-bacterial protection. This product is being marketed as a device to “Guard Against Gross” which is supposed to keep the pen's surface bacteria free.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,655 is directed to an apparatus and method for disinfecting writing instruments for health care professionals which includes a holding means containing disinfecting fluid, an absorbent material pad which is moistened with the disinfecting fluid and a series of slits through the disinfecting pad which enable the writing instrument to be passed therethrough for disinfecting. While this type of device can eliminate the problem of cross-contamination of germs through use of the writing instrument, such device is costly and bulky to move about the office. Also, this device would require routine maintenance thereof and the purchase and replacement of additional disinfecting fluid.
There is a need in the art for an economically feasible single-use writing instrument, which can reduce and/or eliminate the cross-contamination of germs from one person to another when using these “well-handled” objects such as in banks, restaurants, cruise ships, hotels and the like. There is an even greater need in the art for an economically feasible single-use writing instrument in the medical field that can eliminate cross-contamination of bacteria, viruses and chemicals from one patient to another, from healthcare professionals to patients, and from patients back to healthcare professionals. There is also a need in the art for an economically feasible single-use writing instrument that can be used in a “clean” manufacturing environment such as in pharmaceutical manufacturing plants or chemical laboratories. There is also a need in the art for a dispenser for dispensing these writing instruments, which will minimize the transfer of bacteria, viruses and/or chemicals from person to person.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a sanitary disposable writing instrument that will minimize the cross-contamination of bacteria, viruses, chemicals and the like from one person to another.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a sanitary disposable writing instrument that is useful in the medical field to minimize the transference of germs, viruses, chemicals and diseases from patient to patient, patient to medical personnel and vice versa, and medical personnel to other medical personnel.
It is another object of the invention to provide a sanitary disposable writing instrument that prevents the transference of germs and bacteria between people at public locations such as banks, restaurants, hotels, cruise ships, stores and the like.
It is another object of the invention to provide a sanitary disposable writing instrument that may be used in “clean” manufacturing plants such as pharmaceutical plants and chemical laboratories.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a sanitary disposable writing instrument that is functional and economically feasible to produce and dispose of after a single use.
It is another object of the invention to provide a sanitary disposable writing instrument that can be conveniently sized so that it may be placed in a variety of locations.
It is an even further object of the invention to provide a sanitary disposable writing instrument that may have an advertisement or coupon removably attached thereto which would supplement the cost of the writing instrument.
It is another object of the invention to provide a dispenser for dispensing a series of sanitary disposable writing instruments that prevent contamination of the writing instruments prior to their individual use.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a mechanically simple, low cost dispenser that allows for easy loading of the series of writing instruments and ready removal therefrom of individual writing instruments.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method for forming a series of sanitary disposable writing instruments.
In addition to the various objects and advantages of the invention which have been described in some specific detail above, it should be noted that various other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those persons who are skilled in the relevant art from the following more detailed description, particularly, when such description is taken in conjunction with the attached drawing Figures and with the appended claims.